Ahmad Shah Bahadur

Title & tenure

16th Mughal Emperor (1748–1754)

In office: 29 April 1748 – 2 June 1754

Predecessor:

Muhammad Shah

Successor:

Alamgir II

Biography

Ahmad Shah Bahadur succeeded his father Muhammad Shah in 1748 at a time when the empire was under repeated invasion from Ahmad Shah Durrani's Afghan forces, and proved unable to control either external threats or his own powerful vizier, Imad-ul-Mulk.

Key events

• Faced repeated invasions of Punjab and northern India by the Afghan ruler Ahmad Shah Durrani during his reign
• Deposed and blinded in 1754 by his own vizier, Imad-ul-Mulk, who then installed Alamgir II as a more compliant puppet

Legacy

Ahmad Shah Bahadur's reign marks a further stage in the Mughal emperor's reduction to a figurehead, controlled and ultimately discarded by his own chief minister rather than by outside invaders.

How it ended

Deposed and blinded by his vizier Imad-ul-Mulk in 1754; held in captivity until his death in 1775.